Driftwood

[chimera_786]

Hi there! I just got a piece of driftwood that i purchased off ebay. I paid $8 bucks for it and the piece is quite small. It looked much bigger in the pic!!! LOL!!! but its small enough to fit in a boiling pot. And thts what i did. I poured some water, popped in the driftwood and i began to boil it. The water turned brown and im guessing thats the tanning effect from the wood huh? well how long should i boil and what do i do with then? Should i immediately add it to my tank or let sit in chlorine free water for a few days..let all the leeching take place...and then add it to my tank? I have a 20 gallon with 3 rasboras, 2 zebra danios and 2 pearl danios along with a diandara and java fern. Also, where can u buy cheap driftwood if not find your own?

Thanks for looking!!!

 

[fifefish]

try boil it for 5 mins then empty the water out and fill it back up with more boiling water for 5 mins.
then fill a bucket with hot water stick the wood in and leave it for a day or two that should remove the tannins out of the wood.

 

[backtotropical]

Hi Chimera,

I am assuming you are a TVR fan?

How long to soak / boil the wood for really depends on you. How much are you against your water being tainted brown? Most fish actually like the tannins in the water and aquarists usually boil their wood purely for their own aesthetic benefit. It really depends what you want your tank to look like.

If you want no brown staining at all, i would boil the wood until you can't see any more colouring coming out, then leave it to soak in water (not necessarily dechlorinated, doesn't really matter) for a few days just to make sure.

Be warned though that even after this rigorous process, you may still see some tannins in the water after you add the wood. Dependant on the type of wood obviously, but in my experience it can be very difficult to remove every last bit of tannin from the wood.

If you aren't worried about the brown colouring of the water or would like your water to be this way (many aquarists do) just add the wood to the tank now.

Hope this helps you.

BTT

edit: just had an after-thought - another good way to remove tannins is to put the wood through the dishwasher (without detergent obviously)!

 

[chimera_786]

im still boiling it right now..ive boiled quite alot and the water is still turning brown. Now, i dont want the tank to turn brown. A very minute bit should be fine and its understandable. I think im gonna stop boiling it right now and place it in hot water for a few days and let the tanning out (as much as possible) and then toss in my tank. Im eventually gonna attack some java moss to it. Its quite a small piece. It looked larger when i saw it in the picture when i bought it off ebay. Where can i buy bigger pieces if not find them for free??
Thanks for all the input guys!!!

 

[fifefish]

Try ask your LFS if they buy theyre bogwood in bulk or if they could do a deal when buying it.